Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (11.1999(2000))

OLD DONGOLA

SUDAN

walls, erected not very uniformly of bricks
and big storage and water jars. At this
point in time a hearth was built against the
south mastaba. This southern bench,
which measured 2.30 x 2.10 m and was
75 cm high, was constructed incorporating
amphorae, three still preserving the
"address" written in cream paint on the
shoulders. Two of these vessels had been
excavated in the previous season. Now we
know that the amphorae, which were prob-
ably filled with wine, had been sent to the
following inhabitants of the house:
MApiX eTTIC[KOTTOC]
MIX[AGA] TTCXTG TTp[eCBYTepOC
[&] XpX[IMXNApiTHC]
XBBX C[l]AB[XNOC]
XpX[l]MXNA[piTHC]
It was based on these inscriptions that
the name "House of the Ecclesiastics" was
coined. It was eminently possible that the
residents included a bishop, priest and
archmandrite. Of course, it is equally pos-
sible that the vessels had been brought
here from elsewhere as building material.
The northern mastaba was also con-
structed of bricks and amphorae, the latter
both domestic and imported {Fig. 3).
The locally produced vessels belong to
a Dongolan type modeled presumably on
Aswan amphorae, although the examples
from the mastaba have a much modified
body, which bulges more than the regular
amphorae of the turn of the 6th century.3-*
One of the amphorae incorporated in the
bench was most definitely an Egyptian
import from the Mareotis region. It is
a typical bag-shaped late form (LR 5-6)
dated to the turn of the 6th century. In
shape, size (H. 39 cm, Dia. 11 cm, max.
28 cm) and pale gray surface, it resembles

the products of Kariyet Hamra, a produc-
tion center 40 km west of Alexandria.4)
The only evidence of the upper floor
belonging to this structure are big sections
of the wall lying by the house entrance,
a sandstone column base and several dozen
fragments of ceramic window grilles found
in the fill. Accordingly, it is to be assumed
that the upper floor interiors had been
finely plastered and repeatedly white-
washed, and lighted through big windows
screened with ceramic grilles. The function
of the upper floor rooms and indeed their
layout are the subject of theoretical recon-
struction, but it is certain that a toilet had
been located in the southwestern part,
complete with depository in the form of
a narrow compartment on the ground floor
by the curtain wall. A big official hall with
ceiling supported on a central column may
have occupied the northern end of the first
floor. It was probably equipped with ter-
races, as only then it would have been pos-
sible to have big windows with grilles
piercing the walls of this room. A staircase,
uncovered in 1997 in good condition,
assured communication between the floors.
Enough has survived of the grilles to per-
mit a reconstruction of their original
appearance. At least five such grilles (win-
dows) must have existed in the upper floor
walls. Their form and decoration is differ-
entiated, but they seem to have met the
same technical requirements: H. 85 cm;
W. 60 cm; Th. 4-5 cm. Most of the grilles
were rectangular in shape; at least one,
however, had had a semicircular top.5) Two
others have now been reconstructed
{Fig. 4). The quality of these pieces is rela-
tively good. They appear to be earlier com-
pared to the grilles from the cathedral

W. Godlewski, "The fortifications of Old Dongola. Report on the 1990 Season", ANM 5 (1991), 118.
4) G. Majcherek, Roman and Byzantine amphorae from Alexandria (Kom el-Dikka). Typological Study (in Polish),
unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Warsaw University (1992).
5) PAM IX, Reports 1998 (1999), 175, fig. 5.

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